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A STUDY OF TUB RELATIONSHIP OP EVALUATIVE ATTITUDES TO SCHOLASTIC ABILITY AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University Paul Lewis Ward, B. S., M. Ed. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 1959 Approved by Adviser Department of Education ACKNOWLSDGMBHTS Gratitude is expressed to many individuals for tdeir encouragement and assistance in this study* To Professor Herman J. Peters, the writer's adviser, who encouraged and supervised the project; to Professor Collins Burnett, who provided counsel and suggestions as the study progressed; to Professor George Maccia, who served as a member of the reading committee; to the subjects, whose cooperation made possible the ac­ tual data; and to the numerous friends and relatives whose encouragement proved helpful — to all these individuals the writer is deeply appreciative. il TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER Page I INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OP PROBLEM ... 1 Int roduc t i on ................ 1 Statement of the Problem .... 5 Importance of the Problems Under Consideration.................. 7 Hypotheses........................ 10 hypotheses Concerning Intelligence 10 hypotheses Concerning Achievement 11 Limitations of - the Study........... 11 Definitions of Terms............... 15 Summary........................... 16 II RELATED LITERATURE..................... 18 An Orientation to Attitude Measure­ ment...... 18 Values, Scholastic Ability, and Academic Achievement • • •. ...... 26 Interests, Scholastic Ability, and Academic Achievement......... 59 Stability of Interests........... 45 Interests and Academic Achievement 47 Manifest Needs, Scholastic Ability, and Academic Achievement........ 51 Summary........................... 55 III IROCEDURES OF THE STUDY................. 57 The Setting of the Study. ..... 57 The Population Samples............. 59 The Instruments. ............... 65 Gathering the Data................. 71 Treatment of the Data.............. 74 IV THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDY............... 76 The Findings Hypotheses Concerning Attitudes and Ability. ................ 76 hypotheses Concerning Attitudes and Achievement................. 88 Additional Findings and Observa­ tions.......................... 97 Summary and Conclusions......... 101 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER Page V IMPLICATIONS AND SUMMARY........... 109 Implications.................. 109 Summary ................ 119 APPENDIX................................... 121 Questionnaire................. 122 Numerical Data of the Study* *. * 124- BIBLIOGRAPHY............................... 15^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY.............................. 158 iv LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page I AGES OF STUDENTS IN THE FOUR SAMPLES... 62 IT POPULATION OF STUDENTS’ HOME COMMUNITIES........................ 62 III STUDENTS' RESIDENCE WHILE IN COLLEGE... 63 IV MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ABILITY AND LOW ABILITY STUDENTS ON CATEGORIES OF THE STUDY OF VALUES................ ?B V MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ABILITY AND LOW ABILITY STUDENTS ON THE KUDER PREFERENCE RECORD, PERSONAL........... 81 VI MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ABILITY AND LOW ABILITY STUDENTS ON SCALES OF THE EDWARDS PERSONAL HLEFERBNCE SCHEDULE 84 VII MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ACHIEVING AND LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS ON CATEGORIES OF THE STUDY OF VALUES 90 VIII MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ACHIEVING AND LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS ON THE KUDER PREFERENCE RECORD, PERSONAL.. 94 IX MEAN SCORES AND t-RATIOS OF HIGH ACHIEVING AND LOW ACHIEVING STUDENTS ON SCALES OF THE EDWARDS PERSONAL PREFER­ ENCE SCHEDULE......................... 96 APPENDIX TABLES X THROUGH XXV -- NUMERICAL DATA OF THE STUDY-124 v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OP THE PROBLEM Introduct ion Educational, psychological, and sociological efforts in the present century have focused rather in­ tensively upon problems of human adjustment and develop­ ment, Profuse efforts have been and are being made to determine why some individuals react quite favorably in terms of existing social practices and institutions and why others find varying degrees of difficulty in social adjustment, educational progress, and vocational pro­ ductivity. It is generally agreed that the home, the school, the church, and other organized agencies should assist young people in developing educational, vocational, and social skills* But there is a lack of agreement as to how youth may best be encouraged and aided in developing these needed and desirable skills. At one time it was believed that intelligence was the sole determinant of scholastic success. Even today some academicians attempt to explain all student failure in terms of low intelligence. Despite theoretical and em­ pirical advances to the contrary school workers may be found who seemingly believe that the highly intelligent students are. 1 destined to succeed in school work and in life and that the students of rather low intelligence are condemned to very limited in-and out-of-school success. Although intelligence is generally recognized as a factor in scholastic success, research data in recent years clearly indicate that many other factors likewise may affect students' scholastic achievement or personal adjustment. The specific nature of these "other factors" is frontier territory to the educator, the psychologist, the anthro­ pologist, the sociologist, and other students of human behavior. But substantial progress has and is being realized. Research efforts continue, primarily at colleges, universities, or child research oenters, end desirable changes may be observed frequently in educational and community practices. Parents, educators, and the public in general are in­ creasingly emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive approach to human understanding. For example, the term intelligence does not seem to possess the formidable signif­ icance it did a few years ago. Innate abilities are not being de-emphasized. They are being re-emphasized. Teachers are in many instances attempting to capitalize on the differential aspeots of students* abilities whereas they once treated intelligence as a unitary trait. Parents are realizing that differential aptitudes among their own children demand variant school programs and relative expectations concerning achievement* But many factors other than basic ability are being considered* In their attempts to understand and cope with problems of educational progress and personal adjustment professional and lay workers have considered attitudes, interests, values, needs, perception, home background, and several other factors* Though the findings in these areas are hardly sufficient for unequivocal application to educational practices, child rearing, or personal life, many of the results are gratifying. At this stage in our culture a wide-spread faith exists; a faith which assumes that by putting forth con­ tinued and disciplined efforts mankind will be able to understand better how to learn and how to live more effec­ tively. In essence, many efforts are being made by educa­ tional and various lay personnel to augment efficiency in educational and personal activities* Increasing emphasis is being placed upon comprehensiveness in the understanding of individual differences, especially among students* It is believed that a broad understanding of human abilities, values, interests, needs, and other personality traits will make possible more efficiency and effectiveness in educational endeavors and personal development* In this study the investigator is concerned with a restricted aspect of this larger problem, the understanding of differences and similarities among students* The in­ vestigator seeks to explore several aspects of students' differences and similarities* It is believed that the factors e^lored in the present study may influence, and perhaps be influenced by, scholastic ability and academic achievement. The focus here shall be upon the attitudes characteristic of college students. It is a well-known faot that not all persons who aspire to complete a program of training in a teacher- education institution are able to do so. Some students find that they are unable to maintain the academic standing which is necessary to continue the college training* Others may lose interest, or develop other interests, and turn either to another phase of college work or leave the college situation altogether* Much more information is needed con­ cerning both those students who are performing successfully within the college situation and those who are not. The writer's interest in this area of human activity stems from a consideration of such seemingly insoluble questions as: What attitudes are characteristic of the students who possess high scholastic ability? Do the students of high intelligence, as measured by a reputable instrument, differ from the students of muoh lower ability in terms of expressed evaluative attitudes? What attitudes are characteristic of the students who are achieving at a high level in their college work? Do the students who are achieving at a high level differ in terms of evaluative attitudes from the students who are achieving at a low level? It is such questions as these that serve as the foci of the present investigation, and it is hoped that by concentrating upon groups of students who are characterized by high scholastic ability, low scholastic ability, high academic achievement, and low academio achievement signif­ icant differences oan be isolated which will throw light upon present teaching

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